Polish PV distributor Menlo Electric signs EUR 4m funding facility with KUKE Finance
Menlo Electric enters into cooperation with Polish Development Fund through a trade financing agreement with KUKE and KUKE Finance
Menlo Electric, one of the fastest-growing PV distributors in Europe, announces it has signed a EUR 4m funding facility with KUKE and KUKE Finance, Poland’s leading trade insurance and trade finance companies. Coupled with financing obtained earlier this year, this brings Menlo Electric to over 70% of its EUR 20m target in growth financing for 2022.
As Marcin Ślęzak, Menlo Electric’s Chief Commercial Officer, explains:
We have already built a strong presence across Europe’s 20+ fastest-growing renewable markets. Many of them are countries in Central and Eastern Europe or outside of the EU. Trade financing is instrumental in allowing emerging installers and distributors in these markets to grow their businesses.
Janusz Władyczak, KUKE’s President, elaborated:
Cooperation with Menlo Electric fits well with KUKE’s mission to support companies in expanding their international footprint. We are delighted to partner with Menlo Electric, which is playing an increasingly important role in enabling energy transition across Europe.
Financing under domestic and export factoring will be provided by KUKE Finance, a subsidiary of KUKE.
Konrad Klimek, KUKE Finance’s President, emphasized:
We see the progressive concentration of companies operating in the PV market, and Menlo Electric is one of the most important beneficiaries of this process. We hope to finance the company itself on an increasing scale, and through it, smaller distributors and installers from Poland and other countries.
Ms Walendzewicz said:
The agreement is part of a broader financing program for Menlo Electric, led by the company’s CFO Marta Walendzewicz. In a world of supply chain disruptions, making sure we have constant availability of top-quality equipment requires appropriate working capital funding. This is why we have set up a 2022 Growth Funding Program worth more than EUR 20m, encompassing loans, letters of credit and factoring.
The agreement with KUKE is an important milestone in completing the program. We are also in discussions regarding broader cooperation with the Polish Development Fund Group, of which KUKE is a member company.
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About Menlo Electric
Menlo Electric is one of the fastest-growing PV distributors in Europe. The wholesaler has signed distribution agreements worth more than EUR 125m for 2022 with market leaders such as Jinko, JA Solar, Risen, SolarEdge, FoxESS and Sungrow. Menlo Electric currently serves clients in 20+ countries from 7 logistic hubs across Europe and is expanding into the MENA region. The company’s growth is supported by R.Power Renewables, a major European PV developer with 6 GW in its project portfolio, which acquired Menlo Electric in 2021. For more information visit menloelectric.com.
About KUKE
KUKE has been insuring the commercial transactions of Polish entrepreneurs for over 30 years. Its services ensure safe trade both in Poland and abroad. KUKE focuses on insuring receivables from the sale of goods and services with deferred payment terms. As the only institution in Poland, KUKE offers products with guarantees from the State Treasury and insures long-term export projects of an investment nature, and the factoring company KUKE Finance finances foreign and domestic receivables under all types of factoring available on the market. For more information, visit kuke-finance.pl.
Press release provided by Menlo Electric. Photo credit: Menlo Electric. From the left: Marta Pashuk (Junior Accountant, Menlo Electric), Marta Walendzewicz (Chief Financial Officer, Menlo Electric), Katarzyna Kowalska (Vice President, KUKE), Elżbieta Kacprzykowska (Sales Director, KUKE), Konrad Klimek (Chairman of the Board, KUKE Finance).
